My grip tightens on my phone when I come across Elliot's new Instagram post. It's a picture of her and Judah. He has his arms around her, and she's kissing his cheek—six hundred and twenty-seven likes. Really? That many people felt the need to click like on this bullshit? I toss my phone to my bed and let out a groan. I get the need to put on airs for everyone, but it doesn't make it any easier when I have to look at it.

Elliot comes walking into my room carrying coffee. "Good morning." She gives me a quick kiss and hands me the cup. Her eyebrows pull in when she takes in my face. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing," I mutter before taking a sip and setting it down on the side table. "Thank you," I say over my shoulder as I continue to get dressed for work.

Her fingers graze my stomach as she comes up behind me and places a kiss to my shoulder. "It doesn't sound like nothing."

The unease in her voice makes me feel like a dick. I agreed to this. My eyes squeeze shut, and I attempt to reign in my anger. "Should I double-tap on your picture too, or would that be weird?"

She bites my shoulder in response to my sarcasm, and I laugh. Turning around, I pull her against me. "I'm sorry, it just pisses me off."

"It's not real." Her hands travel behind me and she grips me tight. "This is real."

The sincerity in her words melts away at my irritation, and I begin to relax. I kiss her softly. "I know, baby. I can't wait for the day you and I can actually do things like that."

"Do what?"

I laugh. "Declare our love for each other on social media, hold hands in public—do basically anything in public."

She frowns and leans her head on my chest. "It won't be much longer, I promise."

My hand rubs up and down her back reassuringly. "I hope so."

***

Since Judah has been busy trying to get his grades up he hasn't made the trip home as much. Officially Elliot and Judah have been back on for three weeks and this weekend is the first time he's been here since the play.

Thankfully, Elliot has a track meet and I can at least be there for that. The after party is another story. Although she promised to keep their public displays of affection minimal, it still sucks. Having to see her with him for so long, you would think I would be used to it. The truth is, you never get used to seeing the girl you love with another man, especially when he loves her too.

My knee bounces nervously as I sit behind Oliver on the bleachers. He's actually pacing back and forth blowing his whistle and screaming profanities at the girls below. Evidently this is a big meet. They are competing against North Ridge and have been rivals since the dawn of time. At the last meet, they only narrowly edged them out, and that was in part due to Elliot's ability to run faster than basically anyone.

Oliver turns back to me and shakes his head. "Where is she?"

I glance down at my phone again. "She said two minutes."

The scowl on his face deepens. "You know, it's really fucking cute and all that you two have yet another elaborate charade going on, but I have a meet to fucking win."

I laugh. "Relax, man. She'll be here and she'll perform like the champion she is."

He grits his teeth. "She better. Or I'm punching you and Judah."

It's pretty amusing when he gets all pissed off. I'm about to attempt to diffuse the situation further when I see Elliot round the corner of the field house hand in hand with Judah. That's cute he's walking her to the field. Motherfucker.

Oliver chuckles as he spots them too. "Second thought, I take that back." He turns to me with a wide grin. "You're about to suffer plenty I'm sure."

My fist clenches when Judah grabs her face and kisses her passionately, eliciting some whoops from the crowd. I really want to break his jaw right now, but I can't exactly blame him for taking advantage of the situation. I'm not convinced his motives are pure even though Elliot assures me they are.

Oliver waves his arms in air to get her attention. "Elle, get your ass on the field already!" he yells to her. He points to Judah and then motions behind him. "You, get your ass on the bleachers. You can grope each other later."

Elliot gives him a glare, and Oliver puts his whistle in his mouth in warning. With one final peck, Judah reluctantly leaves her side, and she jogs toward the rest of the team. As he's ascending the bleachers, he gives me a nod. I give one back in return as he keeps on toward a group of guys at the top.

Oliver shakes his head in disbelief as he looks back and forth between us. "My mind is fucking blown. You two are completely ridiculous."

"Me and Elliot?"

He laughs. "No, you and Judah. Elliot is a genius. I've taught her well." The look of pride is evident on his face as he pats me on the shoulder before stalking down to his team.

I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, contemplating what he said. He's pretty much right. If you asked me eight months ago if I would ever let a girl manipulate me into breaking every rule I've ever had, I would have said you were crazy.

Now it almost feels normal.

Her eyes meet mine as the announcements begin, and I smile. I can't help it. It's almost an intrinsic reaction when she looks at me no matter what the situation is. Three more months and this will all be over.

The crowd goes crazy when her event is called, and she saunters to the starting line. That's one of the sexiest things about her—the confidence she portrays without even trying. A major misconception about girls like Elliot is that they're insecure. With her, that's not the case, at least not in the way you would expect. The way she acts is a result of the life she's led, but it doesn't reflect her heart.

When the shot sounds, I take a breath as she surges from the starting line. This is an event she typically doesn't do, but after Ollie made her run hurdles for being late to practice, she managed to master it.

She's still edging everyone out as they round the last corner and the crowd rises to their feet. An audible gasp escalates through the air when she unexpectedly trips and stumbles to the track. My hand flies up to grip my chest when she doesn't bounce right back up. After only a split second hesitation, I leap over the railing and down to the field. I sprint toward her, beating Oliver for probably the first time in my life.

Her face is twisted in pain when I drop to her side. "Something's wrong," she gasps, clutching her knee. "I can't...move it."

I immediately scoop her into my arms and carry her off the track toward the bench. Several paramedics are standing by off to the side and come rushing over as I approach.

"She needs help," I spit at them.

They scramble to a stretcher, and her eyes widen. "No," she says, gripping my shirt. "I can't leave now. Let me walk it off."

I lean down to her ear. "Baby, you can't even walk right now. You have to go."

Oliver comes rushing to us and stands on the other side. "Give her here," he says quickly, reaching for her. Elliot slowly lifts her arm and wraps it around his neck as I gently hand her to him.

"Meet us at the hospital," he says over his shoulder as he carries her off toward the ambulance.

Nodding, I run both my hands through my hair and take a deep breath. I reacted so fast without even thinking. Before I can fully process what's happening, Judah comes up beside me and grips my shoulder. I narrow my eyes at him. "Not now."

"Dude, he says calmly. "Take me with you, dumbass. You're not making this look too good right now."

He shoots me a look, and I grit my teeth. The douchebag's right, I need to play along if I have any hope of salvaging the damage I've probably already done.

***

Oliver noisily chomps on his gum beside me as we wait not-so-patiently in the waiting room. I glare over at him. "Could you chew that like a normal human person, or would that be too much to ask right now?"

"Geez, sorry," he says with a laugh. "I'm fucking hungry. This is taking a really long time."

I roll my eyes and continue to focus them toward the door where they took Elliot. Judah leans nonchalantly against the wall beside us, scrolling through his phone. "You're still ahead," he says to Oliver without looking up.

Oliver holds his hands together in an exaggerated prayer. "Thank fuck someone is looking out for me today. I hated leaving my team in the hands of my sorry excuse for an assistant coach." He nudges me with his shoulder. "It was for good reason, though."

A bitter laugh passes my lips. I find it incredibly hard to believe anyone could think of anything other than Elliot right now. This is her passion. What if something is seriously wrong and she can never run again? The thought alone makes me nauseous.

After what feels like an eternity, the door finally opens, and a woman in scrubs motions us back. "She's ready for visitors now," she says with a smile.

I practically jump up from my chair and follow her back the hallway. When we reach the end, she pulls back a curtain and Elliot's smile nearly takes my breath away. I lean down and kiss her once, taking her hand in mine. "Are you okay?"

She pats the brace on her knee gently. "I'm going to be fine. Nothing's torn, it's just a mild sprain."

I release a quick breath and press my forehead to hers. "Oh, thank God. I was so worried."

Her hand cups the side of my face. "Thank you for saving me," she says softly, stroking her fingers down my cheek.

Oliver clears his throat loudly behind us, interrupting the moment we're having.

"Um, my parents are on their way back. Unless you want to unleash that load on them, I suggest you take a step back."

I kiss her once more as Judah moves to her other side, and I take my place next to Oliver. My eyes burn into his hand as he moves it over hers. "I'm glad you're okay, babe."

Elliot laughs, and it makes me viciously jealous. "Thank you, Judah."

Mason steps up behind us and clasps his hand on my shoulder as he speaks. "Your mother is taking care of the rest of the paperwork. It shouldn't be too much longer until we can go."

"Thanks, Dad," she says with a smile.

His hand is still clutching onto me, and I can already feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck. "Let's go get some coffee, huh?" he asks.

I swallow hard. "Sure. Coffee sounds great."

He releases me with a very firm pat on the back, and I turn to follow.

"I'll come, too," Oliver says with a smirk.

"No," Mason says and points to the chair beside the bed. "You stay here."

We exchange uneasy glances, and Ollie tugs at my sleeve. At first, I think he's about to wish me good luck, and then he opens his mouth.

"Hey," he whispers. "Get me one of those cookies." He holds his hands up to demonstrate the size. "You know the great big ones with the tiny chocolate chips."

I shake my head as I turn away from him. "Yeah, I'll be sure to do that."

He grins, leaning into me again. "If my father looks like he's going to kill you, give it to him first." He gives me a wink as I reluctantly follow his father out to the cafeteria.

It's a short walk, but it feels like a lifetime. Mason never says a word until we have a carrier full of coffee, and that damn cookie for Oliver.

He sets the carrier down on the table and lifts the lid, shaking a sugar packet in his hand. "So, it seems you've gotten yourself in a bit of trouble."

Straight to the point I see. Okay, so maybe lying is out of the question? "Um..."

He laughs and turns his eyes directly to me. "There's no point in lying, Hunter. I may be a busy man, but I know what my daughter is doing." He pours the packet into his coffee and stirs it before looking back to me with a fury I've never seen before. "And who she's doing it with."

I hold my hands up. "Sir, I promise you my intentions when it comes to Elliot are pure. I would never..."

"Let me stop you right there," he says, cutting me off. He takes a step closer, and I almost flinch. "Let me tell you what you'd never do."

His eyes hold me captive as I stand there helplessly. We knew this would eventually happen, I can only hope he's more forgiving than he looks.